Taurids Meteor Shower

Under the clear, dark sky, if you happen to catch a glimpse of a bright yellow-orange “shooting star”, you might have just seen a Taurids meteor.

According to astronomy website, the meteors are expected to be visible across the Northern hemisphere, including Genesee Country.

The shower is typically from mid-October to mid-November but this year is most visible from Nov. 5 to Nov. 12. Although the meteor shower is one of the lesser known events of the year, the Taurids are well known to produce abnormally bright meteors or “fireballs” as chunk of comet slam into the Earth’s atmosphere.

Meteors popularly referred to as “shooting stars” are generated when debris enters and burns up in Earth’s atmosphere.

The best time to watch the Taurids will probably be sometime in the early morning hours, i.e., after moonset around 2 to 3 am for those on the west coast. For the people on the east coast, they will have to watch it while the moon is still out and the number of meteors that would be seen would be limited.

The Taurids are expected to appear from the southeastern portion of the night sky. Although the shower was expected to peak in October, the South Taurids are expected to remain active through November 20 according to International Meteor Organization which is a nonprofit agency for tracking meteor showers worldwide.

In 2005, many exceptional fireballs were seen, especially along the U.S. East Coast on Halloween and the fireballs where as bright as the full moon.